Consumers R Us

Consumption patterns have changed dramatically in the past century. It used be the case that individuals purchased items in order to cover basic needs. Purchasing items such as a light bulb, bed, kitchen appliances or a car once meant a targeted investment, a necessary expense that families and individuals made in order to improve their quality of life. Nowadays, consumption patterns have quickly gone from ¨needing¨ to ¨wanting¨. Today, humans purchase not just out of necessity, but out of mere vanity, desire, and even social pressures.

In a world of public relations, celebrities, mass media, trademarks, brands, and marketing, it is no surprise that the evolution of consumer habits has been tied to major world historical events such as the industrial revolution, the rise and boom of the internet, major advances in the telecommunications industry, the rise of e-commerce, among others. While these changes have spurred economic dynamism and globalization as we know it, these events and their outcomes have also concerned those who believe that consumption and the overall laws of demand and supply are getting out of hand.

Over the decades, scholars, historians, entrepreneurs and journalists have discussed the issue of consumerism. While some argue that the pace at which people consume and waste is simply not sustainable economically or environmentally; others support the idea that massive consumption is just a reflection of a natural increase in the demand for goods and services that corresponds to elements like significant changes in population demographics. The truth is, however, most of the demand for these items, services, or products is the result of a campaign to ¨manufacture needs¨.

Like a new phenomenon, brands have permeated the self. Personal identity has become blurred with material goods and commodities. More often than not, people pledge some sort of allegiance or loyalty to a product that seems ¨vital¨ to their lives. A bigger, faster and more luxurious car, a bigger flat screen television, a piece of clothing for every season, the newest cellphone, and so on. In a strange turn of things it appears that brands have come to give value to people instead of being the other way around. In a bizarre way, brands and merchandise have seemingly come to govern people.

Nowadays, brands have become to embody aspirations, social statuses, lifestyles and even personalities. Today, we recognize global brands and often times link them with a certain logo or idea. For instance, when we think of Universities we quickly associate excellence with Harvard University, when thinking about running shoes Nike´s slogan ¨Just Do It¨ pops immediately into our heads. The point being is that although this presupposes a major success in the field of marketing, branding itself has permeated our own selves in a very significant way.

Some psychologists have even argued that the stuff we purchase could become an ¨extension of the self ¨. The constant advertising, social pressures to look a certain way, our own aspirations to become something which we can achieve through material things has drastically changed the way we consume and our relationship to stuff. In the end we need to evaluate if this is a natural path in our lives as social, political, economic beings or whether we are just living to consume and consuming to live.

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2 thoughts on “Consumers R Us”

Reminds me of George Carlin, loosely quoted: “Our homes are a place to store stuff while we go to work to earn money to buy more stuff.”

I left my home town and home state back in 1993 just to get away from that need to buy stuff. Thus, I don’t have a lot of stuff at home. I don’t really like to stay at home anyway. It’s just a place to eat, take a shower, and sleep. I want to get out and about, to enjoy nature and the fresh air.

I have not bought a new TV for a long, long time. It seemed pretty big when I bought it, but it looks small now. It isnt’t flat, either, but I don’t mind – it still works. It will do. I don’t need all the bells and whistles. I guess having such an old TV makes me a freak in the eyes of some people. Everyday I read that some business is downsizing or outsourcing, and putting people out of work, in my city, province or city. Will those people get new jobs easily? Will they make the same salaries they got before? Can all this consuming continue, If they don’t? I wonder about that.